1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to motion capture, and more specifically, to capturing motion and surfaces of an actor.
2. Background
Motion capture systems are used to capture movements of actors and/or objects and map them onto computer-generated objects as a way of animating them. These systems are often used in the production of motion pictures and video games for creating a digital representation of actors and/or objects for use as source data to create a computer graphics (“CG”) animation. In a typical system, an actor wears a suit having markers attached at various locations (e.g., small reflective markers are attached to the body and limbs). Appropriately placed digital cameras then record the actor's body movements in a capture volume from different angles while the markers are illuminated. The system later analyzes the images to determine the locations (e.g., spatial coordinates) of the markers on the actor's suit in each frame. By tracking the locations of the markers, the system creates a spatial representation of the markers over time and builds a digital representation of the actor in motion. The motion is then applied to a digital model in virtual space, which may be textured and rendered to produce a complete CG representation of the actor and/or the performance. This technique has been used by special effects companies to produce realistic animations in many popular movies.